(Forbes)
Baidu Removes Millions Of Pirated Works, Seeks Pact With Authors By
Gady Epstein. The Chinese search engine Baidu, responding to savage
public criticism from pirated authors, has completed a four-day,
around-the-clock deletion project at its Baidu Wenku (Library) service,
taking down 2.8 million items from its “literary works” category. The number
of works remaining in that category now? Fewer than 700 — all licensed, the
search engine says. The move by Baidu CEO Robin Li appears to be a case of
improving public relations by actually improving policy, not always
considered a strength for the richest man in China or his company, or his
country for that matter. Critics will still wonder why Baidu didn’t clean up
Baidu Wenku much earlier; the company had forced aggrieved license holders
to complain first about each individual unlicensed file, much as television
networks (with teams of lawyers) might do with YouTube or China’s Youku.com.
Baidu also isn’t guaranteeing that its deletion campaign has caught every
case of infringement of authors — “we’ve made our very best effort,” says
spokesman Kaiser Kuo.

(WSJ)
In Bow to Authors, Baidu Scrubs Document Sharing Site. Company
spokesman Kaiser Kuo said that Baidu removed most of the files suspected of
being unlicensed — largely found in its “literary works” category — as of 3
p.m. Tuesday, and is in the process of arranging a new discussion with
representatives from the publishing industry. He said he couldn’t guarantee
that 100% of the pirated content on Baidu Library is gone, but “I very much
hope that they [the authors] see this was a good faith effort on our part
and that it will form the foundation for future talks.”

[ESWN Comment: Here I speak about the thoroughness of the removal from
the viewpoint of a victim. As you probably know, I am the literary
executor of the late Chinese author Eileen Zhang Ai-ling, who is often
listed among the literary greats of the twentieth century.

The time is about 8:00pm on Wednesday, March 30, 2011. This is after
the great clean-up has taken effect.

I go to the Baidu Wenku home page and this is what I see:
On the lower bottom left, there is a link to the category: "Literary works."

I click on "Novels" underneath that category and I reach the following page:
There are now only 262 entries for relatively unknown works. Mission
accomplished? Not so fast.

Let us go back to the Baidu Wenku home page.
On the same menu, there is an entry entitled: "Higher education: Physics,
Engineering, Medicine." I place my mouse on that menu item and it
expands out to show more sub-entries: Management; Literature; Philosophy;
Agriculture; Graduate School Entrance Exam; Economics; Law; Education;
History.

I click on"Literature" and I began a search on the author Eileen Zhang
Ai-ling (in Chinese) with the results ranked in descending order of
downloads.

The top result leads to a full copy of Eileen Zhang Ai-ling's story <Love
In A Fallen City>:
The statistics on the right hand side showed that this page has been viewed
23,362 times and downloaded 7,863 times.

The next result is a link to a full copy of Eileen Zhang Ai-ling's <Red Rose
and White Rose>:
The statistics on the right showed that this page has been viewed 11,851
times and downloaded 3,983 times.

There are about 35,000 page views in total. Books currently yield
about 2 yuan per copy for the copyright holders. So I am looking at a
potential economic loss of 35,000 x 2 = 70,000 yuan here.

I am not saying Baidu is lying about having removed the pirated works.
Things were a whole lot worse before. I believe that the problem is
that the database was too big and company workers did not have the expertise
on the subject areas (and I do not expect that any company would have enough
workers to know every subject in an encyclopedia-like database.).]

[023]
The Sakura Revolution In China
(03/28/2011) (RedNet)
On March 27, 200,000 tourists poured into the campus of Wuhan University to
view the sakura blossoms. The sakura trees were gifts from Japan.
The Wuhan University charges 10 yuan per person in admission fees.
More than 3,000 traffic police officers were deployed to direct traffic
outside the campus, while more than 1,000 university student volunteers
served inside the campus. People were packed so tight that they had to
inch forward behind whoever is in front of them.

[strong>022] The Superslut of Shanghai (03/27/2011) Two
different reports on the same case.

March 23, 2011: Several South Korean diplomats stationed
in the Chinese city of Shanghai are under investigation for their
relationships (sexual and otherwise) with a Chinese woman who acted as a
fixer for diplomats seeking access to Chinese officials. The woman, only
identified as Deng, was most useful in helping obtain visas for North Korean
refugees seeking to get to South Korea. Such "fixers" are common in China,
and most foreigners are very dependent on them. The Chinese government wants it that way.

That can be seen from the fact that Deng was caught, by the South
Koreans, with classified South Korean
documents. She apparently got them from one of the South Korean
diplomats at the Shanghai consulate. Deng was also believed to have had
sexual affairs with several South Korean diplomats. At one point, she was
apparently screwing two of them, without either of the South Koreans knowing
the Deng was playing both of them.

On March 8, a number of South Korean media outlets including Chosin Ilbo and
others broke upon a major Chinese spy story: A Chinese woman had tricked
three South Korean diplomats stationed in Shanghai. This occurred
during the period of the Two Congresses in China and the South Korean
reporters abandoned their original assignment to chase after the spy story in
Shanghai.

Combing through the various South Korean news reports, this is a case of
"seduction by a female spy as plotted by the Chinese intelligence agency."
The female Chinese "spy" is a 33-year-old Chinese national named Deng. The case was
revealed by her 37-year-old husband known only by his initial J
who is a South Korean national working in Shanghai for a South Korean
company. J and Deng have been married for ten years, and they have one
daughter. According to J, in late 2010, he learned from friends about
the marital infidelities of his wife. J also found his wife was
behaving mysteriously. So he secretly examined her computer and
found that she was in possession of a series of South Korean "national secrets."

Based upon the information in Deng's computer, J said that his wife had "unusual" relations with three
South Korean diplomats at the Shanghai consulate. There was an
"intimately close" photo with a diplomat from the Legal Affairs Department,
a "letter of promise" from someone who knows someone in the Economic Affairs
Department and the photo of another diplomat. According to South
Korean news reporters, Deng had these South Korean diplomats "under her
thumb." These diplomats were "seduced by this woman who has beauty,
wealth and political connections" and fell into "a love trap." Among
the "major secrets" were South Korean government personnel information, the
visa logs at the Shanghai consulate, and two hundred telephone numbers for
senior government officials (including the mobile phone numbers of the
President's wife and brother). The media said that "such information
is out of reach to ordinary people."

There are multiple photos of Deng with the Shanghai South Korean consul
named Kim stored on her computer. In one photo, Kim had his arm on
Deng's shoulder. In another photo, Kim sat "close" to Deng on a sofa.
According to information, one of these photos was dated at 6:30pm on one
evening and the photo carrying the telephone numbers was taken at 8:30pm on
that same evening. Kim also has a copy of that telephone numbers list
on his personal USB storage device.

The South Korean media gave Deng a background appropriate for a "007 Bond" girl:
She moved to Beijing three or four years ago; someone had spotted her in the Zhongnanhai compound; she staged a traffic incident in order to approach the
diplomat in the Legal Affairs Department of the South Korean Shanghai
Consulate; she claimed to have been the senior secretary in the Shanghai
city government; she claimed to have worked for the Public Security Bureau;
some South Koreans in Shanghai said that she has relatives who are senior
government officials and she exploited those connections for economic gains.
When the South Korean Consulate asked for a meeting of their ambassador with
the city mayor/party secretary, no reply was given for two months; Deng was
asked to intercede and a meeting was quickly scheduled. As to this
last
allegation, the South Korean Embassy said that their ambassador has never
ever met with the Shanghai city mayor or party secretary.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry investigated and handled the matter.
The results were not publicly announced. However, it is known that the
three diplomats were sent home due to "family health reasons," "inability to adjust to
living in Shanghai," etc. The diplomat in the Legal Affairs Department
broke certain job rules because of his relationship with Deng and has
resigned.

The investigation found no evidence that Deng was a Chinese spy. She
was a middleperson looking to make some money. She approached the
South Korean diplomats mainly in order to know South Korean business people.
She had once been a high-paying consultant for a South Korean company.
Furthermore, those telephone numbers were not "state secrets." The two
other diplomats at the Shanghai consulate insisted that they were innocent
-- they said that they did not have improper relationships with Deng and
they did not pass any state secrets along. The South Korean Shanghai
consul Kim said that the photos were taken when he encountered Deng by chance
at the Shanghai Hilton or at the meeting with the French Consul. As
for the list of telephone numbers, the time/date stamp showed that the photo was
taken while the consulate was holding a reception on the South Korean
National Day for several hundred guests and there was no way that Kim would
have time to let Deng take photos. As for the visa logs, the South
Korean Shanghai consulate processes 170,000 to 180,000 visas each year, far
beyond the ability of their staff of ten to handle and therefore some of the work
is out-sourced. That visa log may have been leaked through other ways.

Because this investigation is incomplete since Deng was unavailable, the
South Korean public is skeptical about the results. Some people think
that this incident showed that their foreign ministry has loose discipline,
serious problems and chaotic administration.

Meanwhile a Chinese scholar thinks that the much of the South Korean
reporting on this so-called spy case is unfounded and mutually contradictory.
In the published details so far, there are more speculations than
facts. The hype over this case serves to smear China but
it does not benefit South Korea in any way whatsoever. Over the years, the
American and Japanese media have hyped up similar Chinese spy cases, so now South
Korean is joining the circus. It goes to show that Sino-South Korean
relationship is also evolving in the face of the "China Threat" meme."

Q: Let me get to the main subject. How come you people are totally
indifferent to the copyright violation complaints from the 50 writers?
A: This is a good question. Before you came over, I have been reciting
the answers all day. You know, this is the digital era and the unique
feature of the digital era is that everything is reproducible so that
humans can enjoy the fruits of civilization. We do what we do in order
to preserve civilization. You can ask any netizen: he/she will like to
obtain information as well as the results of civilization for free.

Q: Your elegant speech means that the rights of the property right owners
are being sacrificed?
A: You can't say that. Firstly, more people are learning about these
authors through our website. Today, being known is valuable.
Didn't someone say that you may lose a link today, but you gain the world
tomorrow.

Q: Which god-damned bastard said that?
A: You have a foul mouth. Secondly, their rights are nothing compared to
the right of the Chinese people to life, yeah? Chinese people can have
their lives taken away anytime, so what are property rights in comparison?

Q: You have not answered my question. How do you justify violating the
rights of others?
A: Did we violate anyone's rights? Can you
identify which of our employees violated the rights of someone? If so,
I will fire that employee immediately. The content is uploaded by
enthusiastic netizens to the literature bank for others to share. It
is better to enjoy together than alone.

Q: Do you have any corresponding legal responsibility?
A: We don't care about that. We only build a platform. We don't
care who sings or what they sing or whether the show violates copyrights.

Q: Do you know that there are corresponding responsibilities under the law?
A: Oh, don't talk to me about the law. If Baidu followed the law,
would we be where we are today? Besides, the Baidu Literature Bank did
not violate anyone's rights. We respect people's rights. If you
search for "Han Han," you can find him in the Baidu Literature Bank as well
as Baidu Search in general. If we did not respect Han Han's
intellectual property rights, it means that you won't find him in Baidu's
Literature Bank or Baidu Search. This is the corresponding legal
responsibility for Han Han. If his fans can find him, they would
become very upset.

Q: Don't you think that this is destroying human civilization?
A: No. On the contrary, you must know the saying about "covering your
ears to avoid hearing the sound of the bell." Our ancestors came up
with that saying, but most people don't know what it means today. We
at Baidu are fulfilling this saying.

Q: I understand. You mean that the Baidu Literature Bank is "covering
up the ears to avoid hearing the sound of the bell"?
A: Bingo!

Q: Sorry, I know that Baidu has venture capital investments outside
China. But I would still prefer that you make your replies in Chinese.
(Note: in reference to using the English term "Bingo" in the preceding
answer)
A: OK (in English). Please continue.

Q: Why can't you sit down calmly with the writers and discuss compensation?
A: They are unqualified to talk to us. Who are these writers? We
have Lu Xun in the Baidu Literature Bank. You know Lu Xun. A
great literature writer. He did not want to come and talk with us.
So who are these second-rate writers to talk to us? If we want to
talk, we wouldn't be talking to them.

Q: Are you aware of the special rights within intellectual property rights?
A: Of course. Special privileges are too normal in a nation of
special privileges. I don't know if you have studied in the United
States. But let me tell you about what rights are. Rights are
something to be violated. Just think -- if you have no rights, or
if you have no literary works, then how can we violate you? You will
only defend your rights after they are violated, right?

Q: Uh huh.
A: Let me continue to explain. When you want to defend your rights,
you will find out that this nation does not have any laws to defend you.
This means that your rights can be violated anytime, whether they be your
copyrights, your personal rights or your property rights. Your rights can be
violated without any protection. You see, we have been violating music
property rights for many years. What can they do about us? They
couldn't do anything to us. By extension, we can violate the rights of
anyone without anything happening to us.

Q: But there are many laws in China to protect
the various rights of the citizens.
A: You are wrong. These laws are used to scare cowards. If you are
bold enough, these laws become useless.

Q: Alright, let's not talk about rights. Let's talk about respect instead.
Baidu is disrespectful in the way that it acts.
A: Respect? Since when did the word "respect" show up in the vocabulary of
the Chinese people?

Q: What do you mean?
A: The Chinese people don't respect anything. They have no notion about
contracts. They don't respect music -- they never want to buy recordings
and so why shouldn't we provide them with free music to listen to? They
don't respect literature -- they never want to buy books and so why shouldn't we
provide them with free electronic books to read? Of course, they won't
really read them. They will never read free books carefully. But do
you think that they will spend money at a bookstore to buy books? In
China, I can only provide the contents that correspond to their notions about
consumption. Free -- it will always have to be cost-free.

Q: What if these writers ultimate use legal methods to solve this problem?
How will you cope with that?
A: I welcome any lawsuits. Baidu grew in the midst of lawsuits. We
are not afraid of losing in court, and we have never ever lost in court no
matter how wrong we were.

Q: Why are you so confident and arrogant?
A: You ought to know why. Baidu is a quasi-state-owned enterprise. If Baidu loses, it means that state-owned capital suffers a loss. Do you
think that the courts in China would ever let a state-owned enterprise lose?
The interests of the state override the interests of individuals.
Therefore, Baidu cannot possibly lose in court.

Q: The writers will be taking action next.
A: Let them. We will follow them all the way.

Q: In the event that you lose your case, what kind of compensation will you
make?
A: We won't lose. I am fully confident about this.

Q: But you have actually violated the rights of many people. How dare you
be so shameless?
A: Because my name is Robin Li and my dad is Li Gang.

In mid-February this year, Nanjing citizens found out that more than 40
sycamore trees on Taiping North Road had been cut down. Under the
government's plan, more than 1,100 trees will be cut down for the Numbers 3
and 10 Nanjing subway lines. Of these trees, about 200 were sycamore
trees imported from France during the republican era.

On March 9 or so, a citizen posted the relevant photos on the Internet and
asked the famous broadcaster Huang Jianxiang from Nanjing to pay attention.
Now Huang's Sina.com Weibo microblog has more than 4.3 million followers.
This made the Nanjing sycamore trees the center of attraction on microblogs.
Many Nanjing netizens and celebrities who have lived in Nanjing entered the
debate, including the Beijing scholar Hao Jian, the Nanjing columnist Han
Fangniu, the <Solo Chorus> executive editor Ma Yimu, the <If You Are
The One> hostess Meng Fei and others.

On the major thoroughfares of Nanjing, these trees were first planted during
the republican era. According to the 1929 <Capital City Plan> of the
Republic of China government, major roadwork was conducted for the funeral procession
of the late president Sun Yat-sen. So French sycamore trees were
planted on Zhongshan Central Road, Zhongshan Road, Zhongshan East Road and
other major boulevards where the funeral procession was to pass. Each
road had at least five rows of trees. Other types of trees were also
planted on major boulevards such as Hanzhong Road, Taiping Road, Changjiang
Road, etc. According to an incomplete tally, more than 10,000 trees
were planted.

The relevant photos of these trees posted in early March actually drew the
admiration of netizens from the rest of China because their own cities
looked nothing like that. Over the next few days, netizens created car stickers that called for the protection of the sycamore
trees and they called for people to print these stickers to put on their
cars. Other netizens called for people to tie green ribbons on the
trees.

Some of these organizers were summoned for "tea sessions" with the police.
According to the police, these car stickers slowed traffic down and
created hazards. Furthermore, the green ribbons were an eyesore.
At least five young students were summoned for "conversations" with the
police. When these developments were exposed, netizens pilloried the
Nanjing police. The relevant Internet forum posts were quickly deleted
at the various major portals.

In a certain sense, the sentiments of the Nanjing citizens for the sycamore
trees have to do with the Republican president Sun Yat-sen. As the founder of the Republic of China
and the vanguard revolutionary, Sun Yat-sen who was buried in Nanjing is a
glorious figure for that city. The placement of the statue of Sun
Yat-sen in the city center had been a topic for public
debate on three separate locations. The citizens cared about the status of every tree and plant in
the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park. In 2005, former Kuomintang chairman
Lian Chen came to visit Nanjing and the citizens unfurled a banner
proclaiming "Welcome to the homecoming of the Kuomintang."

Many netizens believed that the sycamore trees are a special characteristic
of Nanjing not just because of the vista, but because they represent the
legacy of the Republic of China administration. Such calls drew
attention from the other side of the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan
parliamentarian Chu Yi
had been one of the first KMT politicians to set up up a Sina.com Weibo
microblog. He recalled his fond memories of the Nanjing sycamore trees
when he visited there
and he called upon the Nanjing city government to pay attention to public opinoin. He blogged that if the tree-cutting does not stop, he would
propose to the KMT Central Committee to defend these trees: "I am fighting
not just for the sycamore trees, but I want to call for respect from the
compatriots on both sides of the Strait for our common history,
culture and memories."

On March 18, the Nanjing authorities responded to Chu Yi. They said
that the French sycamore trees planted during the Republican era will not be
moved and that public opinion will be respected. But by this time, the
March 19 event was already impending.

On or about March 15, Internet posts were calling for Nanjing citizens to go
for a silent sit-in at the former Presidential Office on the afternoon of
March 19. Thise location was the former address of the President's
Office and the Executive Yuan during the Republic era when Nanjing was the
capital of China. The Nanjing city library is located to the southwest
with a multi-leveled plaza in front where people can assemble.

The Nanjing authorities got nervous when the assembly call was spread
around. The official response to Chu Yi on March 18 was an attempt to
defuse this assembly. or at least minimize its impact. This was
worsened by the fact that there had been these Jasmine Revolution calls the
past several weeks before. A netizen commented: "Are they cutting down the
sycamore trees in order to make way for jasmine flowers?"

On March 17, some Nanjing citizens who work within the system were notified
not to go to the Nanjing City Library Plaza at 3pm on Mach 19. At the
same time, the relevant government departments organized its workers to go
out and remove the green ribbons tied to the trees. Their actions were
filmed and posted by netizens. Some students were questioned by the
police when they tried to affix green ribbons to trees. But there was
a case of a teacher bring 8- and 9-year-olds to tie ribbons without
interference.

At around noon on March 19, people began to show up in spite of a massive
police presence. There were police cars all around the Nanjing City
Library. People poured in and held up A4 paper saying: "Let the trees
remain in Nanjing" and "I love the sycamore trees." At around 3pm, a
young person holding a placard was stopped by the police. Netizens
trying to take photos were also stopped.

Overall, this sit-in was relatively successful. Although a number of
local citizens were summoned to have "tea" with the police, nobody was
arrested. The subway construction has stopped and the fate of these
80-year-old sycamore trees is unknown at this time.

Xie Sanxiu came from Hubei to work in Guangzhou with her
husband. Her husband presently earns about 2,000 yuan per month in a
clothing manufacturing factory.

The daughter of Xie Sanxiu named Hou Sansan was born on August
31 last year. According to her mother, her daughter appeared to be unable
to follow objects with her eyes. She took her daughter to consult a doctor
and found out that the infant had a tumor on the cornea. This was a
tremendous blow to the family. Xie Sanxiu broke out in tears: "The child
is only two months old and she is suddenly severely ill. And why did this
happen to an impoverished family?"

Xie Sanxiu took her daughter to the pediatric hospital and has
spend 50,000 yuan so far on treatments. This exhausted the family savings.
"The first two surgical operations yielded no improvement as the left eye began
to shrivel." Yesterday, our reporter observed in person that the right
eyeball of the infant was sunken as if there was nothing there. Xie Sanxiu
used her fingers to lift the eye open and it looked dim and lifeless.

The parents went out borrowing money from friends and
relatives. They went to a specialist hospital and were told that the child
should receive six doses of chemotheraphy first. "If the treatment is not
given promptly, the child's life is at risk beyond just the right eye. The
husband had been taking taking days off from work in order to seek medical
treatment for his daughter."

The desperate Xie Sanxiu decided to seek help over the
Internet. She made a post entitled "Seeking kind-hearted people to held an
infant with optical cancel" at the G4 Online BBS at the Tianya Forum. She
provided the medical history as well as the official documents and photos.

Most netizens were sympathetic towards Xie Sanxiu's child.
But there was a netizen named "Rich young man in Guangzhou" who told Xie: "So
many people need help in this world. Why should I help you?" Then
this person added: "Not every person in this society is kind-hearted. You
said that you are willing to give up your own life for the healthy well-being of
your child. It is easy to say empty talk. Who is going to
believe you? If you can, you can crawl 1,000 meters in a Guangzhou street
and I will immediately donate 20,000 yuan to you."

Another netizen said angrily: "I don't care if you can help
this infant or not, but you cannot say things like that to make the mother feel
lousy."

But Xie Sanxiu was not angry because she cared too much about
her baby. She said: "Rain or snow, I will go. I will do anything
possible to save my baby. I hope that this rich young man of Guangzhou
will keep his world."

Yesterday at around 2pm, Xie Sanxiu brought her child to the
bus depot at Guangzhou Boulevard and began to walk forward on her knees.

Pedestrians gave her strange looks, but she was oblivious.
Our reporter asked her if she knew how to contact "Rich Young Man of Guangzhou."
She didn't. "In order to save my baby, I will try anything as long as
there is a sliver of hope."

When some pedestrians found out about her situation, they gave
her money generously. 20 yuan, 50 yuan, 100 yuan ...

At around 5pm, a young man who claimed to be the webmaster of
the G4 BBS at Tianya Forum appeared at where Xie Sanxiu. Upon learning who
the reporter was, he said: "Tell her that the 'Rich Young Man of Guangzhou'
knows what she is doing. He wants her not to traverse on her knees.
There will be some way of raising the money."

But Xie Sanxiu was oblivious. She insisted on going
forward and refused to stop until she reached the Sports Center. The G4
BBS webmaster said taht even though the "Rich Young Man of Guangzhou" said that
he will find some way out, he did not explicity say that he will donate 20,000
yuan personally.

An hour later, the G4 BBS webmaster contacted the reporter:
"Let me give you a piece of bad news. I have contacted the 'Rich Young Man
of Guangzhou' to verify the donation. He said, 'I won't be donating any
money. She was just asking for it.' " Later, the G4 BBS webmaster
told the reporter: "When I tried to reach the 'Rich Young Man of Guangzhou'
again, he ignored me."

UPDATE: It has been uncovered that the 'Rich Young Man
of Guangzhou' is the alias of the G4 BBS webmaster. This person has been
immediately suspended by the Tianya Forum. Netizens asked: "Is suspension
sufficient punishment?" They also asked cynically: "Why didn't someone
call the police and haul this woman and her infant down to the police station
for a compulsory DNA test?"

Panicked shoppers stripped stores of
table salt in Hong Kong - and in cities across the mainland - amid internet
claims that it can ward off radiation exposure from Japan. The alarm sparked
calls from Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok for people to be
level-headed and stop listening to false rumors. Consumers also worry that
salt in future may be produced from radiation- contaminated seawater.

The panic-buying pushed up the retail price of salt to as
high as HK$30 a catty, from the usual HK$2.

The salt frenzy also hit Macau, Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou and other mainland cities as misinformation crisscrossed the
region via the internet in the wake of Japan's nuclear emergency.

Chow said the rumors about salt being a radiation remedy
and affected seawater are "totally unfounded."
"Three-quarters of the Earth's surface is made up of seawater," he
said. "We believe the supply of salt will not be affected. The
contamination of the seawater around Japan will be much diluted or washed
away after some time." Chow said iodine - which can help lower the
absorption of certain radioactive chemicals in the body - is useful only if
people take iodine tablets within six hours before or after radiation
exposure. [...]

"What matters most is that Hong Kong citizens should
have common sense and analytical skills, and understand how radiation may
affect our bodies," Chow said. "We should not get affected by such
rumors and the speculators who may be spreading the rumors in the hope of
making profits."

People with edema, high blood pressure and kidney disease
risk damaging their health more if they consume too much salt.
Undersecretary for Food and Health Gabriel Leung said about 85 percent of
the table salt on the market is not iodized. "One has to take about 2.5
to five kilograms of [iodized] table salt a day in order to absorb the dose
of iodine that is contained in an iodine tablet," he said.

Tommy Chan Hing-moon, a clinical psychologist at Matilda
Medical Centre, said a "herd mentality" causes shoppers to follow
what others do amid a panic. "This is an overreaction by citizens after
hearing rumors and seeing negative media coverage about the potential
dangers of nuclear disasters," Chan said ...

As if that was not enough, here is further
incitement to action:

Hong Kong Daily News
Rice-buying spree all set to happen

The other newspaper carried stories about Japan Prime
Minister Naoto Kan's statement that eastern Japan may be ruined under the
worst case scenario.

(MRzine)
Special Advisor to the Cabinet Kiyoshi Sasamori, at a press conference on
the night of the 16th, revealed that in a conversation with him, Prime
Minister Naoto Kan said: "[If the worst case scenario of the
Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant accident comes true,] we must consider the
possibility that eastern Japan will be ruined."

Will the media please don't make any more of these
exaggerated, inflated reports for the sake of increasing circulation and
creating fear among people? This is not only unprofessional but also
immoral. Today many Hong Kong newspapers carried headlines about
Naoto Kan announcing (or warning) that "eastern Japan will be
ruined." This was a clear case of distortion/hyping. The
storm in the teacup has been blown up to a headline news story. This
is appalling and repulsive.

The original facts are these: On the evening of March
16, Prime Minister Naoto Kan and the cabinet advisor Kiyoshi Sasamori held
a 15-minute private conversation. Naoto Kan was strongly
dissatisfied with the lack of any sense of crisis at the Tokyo Electric
Power Company and he said angrily to Kiyoshi Sasamori: "(TEPCO) has a
very weak awareness about the crisis. They need to imagine that
eastern Japan may be ruined. I have some knowledge about the issue
(about nuclear energy). TEPCO must have an extra sense of
crisis."

Clearly Naoto Kan's words were meant to express his
anger at TEPCO several days ago. Specifically, he was referring to
the fact that TEPCO reported the latest situation at the Fukushima nuclear
power plant one later later. The public comments were directed
against Kiyoshi Sasamori for having "a big mouth" in relaying
the words of the Prime Minister to the media with demoralizing effect.

But the local Hong Kong media managed to inflate
something that happened several days ago into front pages, as if the Prime
Minister thought that things were out of control and the people needs to
be warned.

[017] Microbloggers
Comment On The Great Salt Buying Spree (03/17/2011)

Twitter:

"Hey, man, give me one whole salted chicken -- but
hold the chicken."

Salt all sold out in Hohhot (Inner Mongolia)!

Fuck! A relative told me that there is no salt in
Changji city (Xinjiang province). This is the inland city which is
farthest from the ocean.

In Zhejiang, a male citizen expired yesterday after taking
in too much salt in order to ward off radiation. By the time that his
family took him to the hospital, it was too late.

If at first people bought out salt, it was through sheer
ignorance. But those who are now buying salt, soy sauce and even
chicken bouillon cubes are suffering from psychological fears. I heard
someone said while making a purchase, "Are people doing this because
the price of salt is expected to rise?" "Are salt being
shipped off to Japan?" "If there is no salt left, we better
hoard up on chicken bouillon cubes." You can clear up the
ignorance via popular science education, but it is hard to eliminate the
mass fears.

If I bring two packs of salt to see my thesis advisor,
will she pass my proposed outline this time?

According to my field observations in Hangzhou, the supply
of iodized salt is normal (with no restrictions on purchase amount), the
price was fair (1.5 yuan per pack) and there was no panic buying (people
typically bought two packs each). If you spend all day reading the
Twitter and Weibo and refuse to reach out to the real world, you will be
misled into believing that the Chinese people are a bunch of panic-stricken
stupid c*nts.

I am shocked that the person above was the only one who
was in touch with the real world.

All supermarkets large and small are out of salt.
There is only one supermarket which is still selling -- the original 1.3
yuan pack is now going at 20 yuan per pack.

On August 4, 2006, the China News Agency had this report:
"The Qinghai Salt Lake Development Group president Xie Kongmin told our
reporter that they have a reserve of 55 billion tons of sodium chloride
(that is, salt), enough to last 2,000 years for the entire global
population."

They are making buying sprees while we scorn them.
But when we need salt at home, we find that we have none.

At the Beijing Jinyuan supermarket, salt is all sold
out. They are now buying and hoarding seaweed.

Among the salt buyers, middle-aged and senior citizens are
pre-dominant. This has to do with their education and information,
which have to do with what happened during the first 30 years of the
people's republic.

We heard that the Jasmine Revolution meeting points this
Sunday have been moved to the various large supermarkets, and the secret
code is to buy 10 packs of salt.

The Jasmine Revolution advocates do not understand the
true situation in China. Actually, if they had released the story that
children are at risk on such a date and that the parents must walk three
times around a government building, it would have been a much bigger event
than calling people to come down to McDonald's.

On Taobao, someone has come up with the ultimate trick --
one pack of salt free if you purchase something from them!

Salt panic buying has reached Macau.

When people believe in rumors, lack a sense of security
and are easily panic stricken, who do you blame except the government?
First, you have to blame the education system for not proving common basic
knowledge. Secondly, you have to blame the government for not gaining
public trust and therefore cannot dispel rumors effectively. Thirdly,
the government has not lifted up the quality of Chinese citizens and this is
the unfortunate result of a system which has economic development as its
core.

This episode shows that the Chinese people are so ready
for democracy. They wanted something and they showed that they are
ready to do everything possible to get it.

This episode also shows that the Chinese government is
failing its people. The people want salt but there is no salt to be
found anywhere. This is the failure of the government. If there
were free elections, salt would be available to anyone who wants it anytime.

I was buying a magazine at a newsstand and the owner said
that salt has been sold out at the nearby supermarket. It does not
matter which city you are, there is no way to hold back a bunch of
uneducated/uninformed people.

The Carrefour salesperson told me that the salt rush here
at Beican began in the afternoon. After salt sold out in Ningpo,
people traveled to Beican to buy salt. But he told me quietly that
they will be getting another salt shipment at 2pm. That is less than
one hour from now -- I wonder if I want to taste the joy of being able to
procure salt ...

Can we talk about something else? All I see are salt
stories. This is getting to be very boring. Can we talk about
something more interesting instead?

My wife called her parents in Xinshao city, Hunan
province. There does not seem to be any rush on salt in Xinshao.
Her mother said that there had been salt-buying panic last year for unknown
reasons. Nowadays old men and women are hoarding musical
instruments. Her mother purchased an er-hu for 880 yuan, which is the
cheapest around. Many old men and women are buying saxophones which
cost several thousand yuan apiece. Er-hus can cost more than 10,000
yuan. We felt very happy. Praises!

It is true that I went to buy salt, but several
supermarkets were all sold out. I was heartbroken. But it is
pointless now to buy salt because the rumor has faded away. I have
decided to start a rumor to say that the Android phones are radioactive and
then I will buy a cheap second-hand one after the rumor takes effect.

The salt buying spree shows that the Chinese people lack a
sense of security. I don't think that this came because of a certain
natural disaster, or the distrust of the government. Instead, it comes
from the deep memories of hunger, want and chaos over several thousand
years. These memories have become part of the collective
sub-consciousness of the people.

Weibo

Someone recommended that there should be a "Don't buy
salt" campaign on the microblogosphere. I think that the salt
buyers are those who don't use the Internet and lack accurate
information. That is why traditional media such as television, radio
and newspapers should be used to bring more accurate information to these
people. [Comment: The people on this side of the information gap are
obliged to communicate their knowledge to the people on the other
side. They should do so by getting away from the computer and talk to
others directly. The more people they speak to the better. The
total number of conversions may be small, but this is doing a good deed.]

The government is being blamed for lack of public trust in
this salt-buying mass panic. I think that the answer is the lack of
commonsense. People say that commonsense requires the government to
provide education. But the government is never omnipotent and
omniscient. If we have to rely on the government to give you
commonsense, then how could we complain that the government has too much
power? How could we complain that the government is depriving our
civil rights by saying that we are not good enough? The people who
need commonsense education are those in government.

There is even a rush on salt in Sichuan. In Sichuan,
the salt comes from the salt mines! Even if the ocean is contaminated,
it won't affect Sichuan. My friend called to say that he ran out of
salt and went to buy salt. He was stunned to see the empty shelf at
the supermarket. He had to go and fetch a spoonful from his
grandmother ... everybody is talking about salt ... it is rumored that
Sichuan will be sending its salt to the eastern coastal region.

Do not be deceived by these crooked businessmen.
Stop buying salt. Most of the salt comes from salt mines anyway, not
from the Pacific Ocean. So they have nothing to do with any nuclear
radiation. Besides, radioactive elements are quickly diluted by the
sea water. Eating salt won't ward off radiation. But you can end
up with edema if you eat too much salt and have hypertension. The
crooked businessmen are jacking up the price, so why do you want to be a
sucker? The salt-buying spree shows that people are ignorant.
They have become the global butts of the jokes. A grand nation may
have risen, but the wisdom of its people is lagging far behind.

Happiness is being able to buy salt

How to dispel the rumors? There is no salt to find
anywhere from large supermarkets to small corner stores. Meanwhile the
salt industry representatives say that there is a sufficient supply of salt
in store. So why not move the stored salt into the stores? Isn't
this the best way to dispel rumors. The more you talk without doing
anything, the more suspicious people become. Just shut up!

At the supermarket, everybody was clamoring to buy salt
except for one old lady who was shopping for other items while scoring at
the other people. When asked why she didn't want to buy salt, she
said: "I haven't even finished using the salt that I bought during the
SARS period ..."

Caixin: We started a debate this morning: "There are
salt buying sprees in many places in China. What is your view?
What would you do?" At this time, 359 people said that this was
stupid; 51 people said that they would go and buy salt; 19 people were
neutral.

At Hong Kong supermarkets, people were buying rice and
salt. This shows that Hong Kong people still lack commonsense.
The salt supply is basically inexhaustible. The rice comes mostly from
Thailand and is not affected by radiation.

At a time when people have such poor scientific knowledge,
it seems premature to discuss freedom. It is a luxury. Rebuttal:
What has scientific knowledge got to do with freedom?

The reason for the salt buying spree is due to the sense
of insecurity and the distrust of the government. "I don't
understand what your experts are saying and I am not willing to listen to
them. I don't trust the authorities. I can only depend on
myself."

Japan had a magnitude 9 earthquake and they held up.
But we fell apart over salt! We can see how the Chinese are
psychologically vulnerable and how they cannot distinguish rumors from
facts! When the government hears the word "jasmine," they
fall apart! When the people hear the word "salt," they fall
apart! We don't need any earthquake, tsunami or volcano -- all it
takes is a rumor for China to collapse!

The worst thing in the world -- I have been forwarding
salt-related items on my microblog all day but when I got home, there was no
salt.

With respect to all these compatriots who are said to be
buying salt, I can only say: "Please line up and stay in order --
everybody will get their share." This reminds me of the panic
buying of honeysuckle during the SARS period -- the price went from 10 yuan
per kilogram to 600 yuan per kilogram in a matter of days. Many people
who bought were sorry later on. Eight years have passed, but people
have not gotten any better. [Comment: Can such 'people' build a
democracy? I have my doubts. If they really build a democracy,
it would be a tofu-residue construction project which will topple at the
sign of a breeze.]

The most awesome and richest city in all of China right
now is Yancheng (Jiangsu province) [Explanation: The literal
translation is "Salt City."]

China was not stricken by any disaster, but there is a
nationwide salt-buying panic spree. Meanwhile the Japanese are holding
steady in the face of earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear radiation
leakages. What does this say? Which society is more
stable? Apart from the troublesome Tokyo Electric Power Company, how
is Japan worse than us? Apart from our fearless People's Liberation
Army soldiers, what can be do better than Japan?

Frankly, the various microblog posts that make fun of the
panicky salt-buying spree seems to indicate that everybody has superior
wisdom. On the microblogsphere, have you seen anyone saying that they
lined up to buy salt in order to ward off radiation? Frankly, I have
not seen anyone yet. This is how microblogs are successful as media
because the rumors have been filtered out.

Now that we are done with salt-buying, the next step will
be to hoard lead pencils!!! Why? Because the Baidu encyclopedia
says that lead can keep out nuclear radiation!!!! Attention: Stick to
type 2B!!!!!!!

In Foshan, the police came out and restricted citizens to 2
packs of salt per person. One citizen somehow came out smiling with
ten packs in hand.

My understanding is that the Chinese people are in a
prisoner's dilemma situation. We are all living in black boxes and we
assume the worst about other people. What is they are stupid?
When everybody else is buying up salt, you would think: "Maybe I won't
have any salt." So you buy salt not because you are stupid, but
because you are worried that other people may be stupid. If I hadn't
just purchased a pack of salt, I would have gone downstairs and gotten into
line to buy a pack ...

Salt is all sold out in Shenzhen. Many people are
rushing over to Hong Kong to buy salt. Very soon, the foreign media
will be printing large numbers of reports about the salt-buying panic and we
will lose face around the world.

They have panic salt-buying in Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and
even Xinjiang. For the sake of harmony, I ask: Are they buying up salt
in Lhasa yet?

On the Internet yesterday, it was rumored that the Japanese
nuclear leakage will be reaching China and that iodine can repel nuclear
radiation. It was also said that sea water will be contaminated by
nuclear fallout and therefore sea salt will be unsafe. As a result,
people were rushing out to buy as much salt as possible. Yesterday
evening, the Guangzhou supermarkets and convenience stores were all sold out
of salt. Many 500gm packages of salt were being sold at 10 yuan
apiece. The Guangdong province Salt Industry Bureau convened an
emergency meeting. They announced that they have a three month supply of
salt on hand and therefore they can fully meet the demand.

According to Shenzhen City Salt Industry Company's general
manager Yi Huanqing, the rush to buy salt began in the afternoon in eastern
Guangdong province and spread westwards. Salt was sold out after 6pm in
certain locations. In Shenzhen, the rush began around 6pm and extended
across the city later.

According to Guangdong province Emergency Office director Ji
Jiaqi, the rush for salt is presently more serious in medium- and small-sized
cities such as Shantou. The situation in the larger cities is not as
bad. "We have made announcements on Shantou television. We
are telling the public that the sea water around China has not been polluted
by nuclear fallout. The Guangzhou Marine Affairs Department and the
Ocean Fishery Bureau are monitoring the situation closely. There is no
need to buy and hoard salt. We will be making similar announcements in
other cities."

According to the Guangdong province Department of Health,
there is no scientific basis to think that iodized salt can fend off nuclear
radioactive fallout. Beijing Fuwai Hospital Nuclear Medicine Department
director He Zuoxiang said that the panic buying of salt is due to unfounded
fear.

He Zuoxiang said that it was pointless for people to buy
iodine tablets or iodized salt. Based upon all the information, the
nuclear leakage in Japan will not have any practical impact on China.
There is no need to buy anything to fend off nuclear radiation.
"Our biggest problems now are the excessive fear and the lack of basic
knowledge."

If radioactive iodine were to enter the body, then the
intake of iodine tablets may lessen the thyroid gland's absorption of
radioactive iodine. But we are worried about the nuclear radioactive
contaminants coming in the air and the environment. In such cases, the
iodine tablets are useless and the iodized salt which contains only a minute
amount of iodine is even less meaningful. Besides, iodine tablets may
have unnecessary side effects.

Some people are concerned that the sea water will be
polluted by the nuclear fallout, and thus the sea salt will be contaminated in
the future. He Zuoxiang said that there is absolutely no reason to worry
about this because the likelihood is extremely small.

On March 15, the World Health Organisation stated on its
website that potassium iodine tablets cannot ward off external radiation nor
can it prevent harm caused by radioactive materials other than iodine.

Just before or shortly after receiving radiation, the intake
of potassium iodine can saturate the thyroid gland and reduce the intake of
the radioactive iodine-131 (and thus the risk of cancer). However, one
has to be cautious about taking potassium iodine. For example, those
will kidney problems may fall ill and pregnant women may damage the thyroid
functions of their fetuses.

But here are some interviews with the men in the street:

Guangzhou:
"We bought enough salt to last three years." Yesterday Mr.
Chen drove his car all the city to visit numerous supermarkets. He spent
more than four hours and bought more than 100 packets of salt. "In
the afternoon, some customers were coming to blows over salt." At
9pm, the supermarket manager also named Chen said their iodized salt was sold
out in the morning. They were not able to re-shelve because the supplier
could not meet the demand. So it is likely that this supermarket won't
have any iodized salt for the next couple of days.

Shenzhen:
The Shenzhen Salt Industry Company said that the mayor has taken a personal
interest in the matter. According to the company, sea salt accounts of
1/3 of the salt on sale with rock salt accounting for the rest. "Shenzhen
can guarantee a four months supply of salt to its citizens."

Foshan:
Salt dealers deal in boxes of of iodized salt. Each box has 40 packs,
each pack weighing 500 grams. The wholesale price of a box is 43.5 yuan
and the retail price of a pack is 1.3 yuan (although some retailers sell two
packs for 2.5 yuan). With a period of 35 minutes or so beginning 5pm,
the wholesaler Mr. Huang's 300 plus boxes of salt was sold to retailers.
"This was like the rush for kelp during the SARS
period." In one instance, a BMW drove up to a supermarket at around
1030pm and a man got off and purchased a whole box of iodized salt.

Dongguan:
At the Chang'an Yongtou market, things were normal at 8pm as salt was still
being sold at 1.30 yuan per pack. By 9:20pm, there was a sudden influx
of customers for salt. Many convenience stores jacked up their prices to
2.5 yuan per pack. The 43.5 yuan per box wholesale price became 150 yuan
per box at the retail level. A convenience store owner said, "This
has never happened before."

Shantou:
The Shantou City Salt Industry Bureau's retail outlet was mobbed by citizens
seeking to buy salt. The outlet sold out all its salt. At past
8pm, there were still citizens waiting outside. In Puning, the price of
a pack of salt went up to 3 yuan but the demand continued to be high.
The Shantou city government made announcements on the local television
stations as well as sent out text messages.

On May 25, 2008, medical workers and volunteers evacuate
injured persons from the Shifang Number Two Hospital. Korean rescue
team members gave help. On that day, a special train went from Deyang
(Sichuan) to Changsha (Hunan). 58 injured persons at the Shifang
Number Two Hospital took this train in order to receive treatment in
Changsha.

According to Kyoto News, the South Korean earthquake
rescue team arrived at Haneda Airport (Tokyo) on March 12. They are
the first foreign rescue team to arrive in Japan. There are two
officers and two canines. The South Korean government decided on March
13 to send an reinforcement team of 102 rescues.

"According to the latest NHK reports: South Korean
sent five humans and two canines for the rescue mission. But the two
canines got lost in Tokyo and the five humans are trying to find those
canines. According to information, one canine was found but the other
one went missing. The team members are taking the one just found to
look for the missing one. We expect to see a new update very soon: The
missing canine was found, but the five humans have gone missing."

The jokes about the South Korean rescue team is getting
more and more lame. At first, the two canines were missing and the
five humans went looking for them. Now the latest version is that the
canines have been found but the humans have gone missing.

Actually, all these stories were reported in the Japanese
BBS forum 2ch. There has not been any mainstream Japanese news reports
about any missing canines/humans on the South Korean rescue team.

(Sina.com Weibo)

@"Japanese Adult Video Comforter Group"
According to information, the five members of the South Korean rescue team
has suddenly been reduced to four persons. Why was one missing?
We have now confirmed that one of the team members broke his leg while
searching for the missing canine and he has been sent to a hospital for
treatment. We are forwarding this news to seek blessing for a country
who value canines more than humans. We hope that you can save more
pretty girls so that they can guarantee that the Japanese adult video
industry will continue to flourish ... Amen.

According to a colleague at <Anhui Market News>, a
Henan media colleague Wang Can was beaten to death while fathering news in
Fuyang city, Anhui province. This colleague at the <Anhui Market
News> said that his information came from the Fuyang city Public Security
Bureau and Publicity Department.

Another media colleague sought confirmation from the Fuyang
City Publicity Department and was told: <Dahe News> reporter Wang Can
"fell to his death" while gathering news in Fuyang city, Anhui
province.

According to local Anhui media: China News Agency reporter
Wang Can (real name Wang Lancui) of Yinghshang county was beaten to death by a
mob at the Sanbai Supermarket in Fuyang city, Anhui province. The police
have detained the murderers and the mastermind. The supermarket owner is
a Anhui Provincial People's Congress delegate. This information is
pending verification. At this time, there has been no official
information.

Zhang Hongfeng: I have just contacted Wang Yun at the Fuyang
City Public Security Bureau Publicity Department. She confirmed that a
reporter was beaten to death. But she has not seen the details yet so
she will have more to say later.

The current information is that this person carried
identification from China News Agency. However, the Henan and Anhui
bureaus of the agency denies that this person worked for that. The cause
of death of this person was that he was meeting with his lover. His
lover and her husband were both fellow students. This time, Wang was
caught in flagrante by the husband. While trying to escape, he fell down
the building. The supervisor of the place where Wang's wife says that he
is unaware of the matter. Wang's wife could not be reached. An
official bulletin is forthcoming.

Fuyang City Public Security Bureau Publicity Department
director Liu Hongtao told me that Wang is not a China News Agency
reporter. He is a Fuyang city reporter and he was not beaten to
death. He fell to his death. During this conversation, the
Yinghshang Public Security Bureau called Liu and our call was
interrupted. I will call back later. At the same time, China News
Agency's Anhui bureau said that they had no such employee.

Awaiting the official bulletin: The deceased, the female
fellow student and her husband are acquainted with each other. It was
the family of the deceased who claimed that he was a reporter, but that awaits
verification. This incident had nothing to do with being beaten up
during news gathering or any People's Congress delegate. Please do not
propagate these rumors.

Official bulletin: At around 16:00 on March 14, 2011, Wang
Lancui (also known as Wang Can, male, 42 years old, a teacher at the Zhabei
Middle School, Woyang county) fell to his death the fifth floor
apartment of his female student at Liberation Road, Yingshang county.
The crime scene investigation showed that he died due to a fall, that he had
no signs of other injuries and that he was not a reporter. The
investigation continues.

A study as to how microblogs seek to verify: 1. There was
informating claiming that a reporter was beaten to death. 2. I
contacted the source and I explained that verification is pending.
3. I contacted that the local police. The police could not confirm
the information. But they said that they heard about a reporter beaten
to death. 4. I continued to try to confirm whether that it was a case of
beating to death. 5. The police confirmed that the person died
after falling down. Question 1: Do I need to apologize? Question
2: What are the pros and cons about this method of seeking verification?

The rumormongers are contemptible.

(Zhang
Hongfeng) For those who think I ought to apologize, I apologize
here to you; for those who do not think that I need to apologize, I bow here
to you. In summary, this adulterer/fake-reporter incident has caused me
great pain. I don't want to look back. Look at the graphic!Mother's, I was taken in by a fake reporter!!!!!!!
He was even a fucking adulterer!!!!!
He was even fucking dead!!!
I wasted an afternoon!!!
There was news that he was beaten to death!!!
There was news that he jumped out of a building!!!!!
There was news that he was pushed and he fell to his death!!!!
Mother's! I spent a whole afternoon trying to confirm!!!!
In the end, he fell to his death while being caught committing
adultery!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can afford to be hurt, oh, oh, oh, oh!!!!!!!!!

[013] A
Letter To My 13-Year-Old Son After Posting Bond For Him For The
Demonstration Against The Government Budget (03/15/2011) The
following forum/blog post is receiving a great deal of attention in Hong
Kong. In some circles, this is regarded as a very clever piece of agit-prop.
When propaganda is successful, it must be tapping into something.

At the moment when I posted bond for you at the police
station, I really had a lot of mixed feelings ...

Son, your father is not blaming you for forcing him to
make this trip. Instead, I am worried about whether you understand
what you are doing. Therefore, when we got home we discussed what you
did. I asked you why you went to the demonstration. You said
that that you demonstrated because the budget proposal was bad since it
didn't look after senior citizens, it had no retirement pension and it had
nothing for a 13-year-old (that is, no 6,000 dollars and no
subsidies). On one hand, I am pleased by your attention to current
affairs. On the other hand, I am very worried about your incessant
demands on society and/or the government.

Son, your incessant demands have increased your dependence
on society. Your father is not well-educated. At the age of 18,
I began working. Like many Hong Kong persons, I earned my living with
my two hands and hard work for the sake of my future. Of course, I
admit that not everybody can survive in this society through their own
efforts, and so some people have to rely on help from society. But you
are 13 years old and why don't you try to improve your own life instead of
asking the government for more welfare? You have made no contribution
to society as yet, so why are you demanding more from society? At this
moment, our family makes a plain and ordinary living. We have three
meals a day, and we have the basic conditions to live without worries.
Your life has just begun. You can use studying, learning, diligence
and wisdom to change or improve your future. You said to me,
"There is no change without revolution." But I am more
inclined to think that "there is no change without hard
work"! I hope that you can forge your own future by relying on
yourself!

Son, your father is going from middle-age to
old-age. When I heard that you wanted universal retirement pension, my
reaction was more worry than delight. I remembered that my father
(that is, your grandfather) telling me that he did not expect me to take
care of him because he did not want to be a burden on his children. I
was grateful to him because my burden became less and I enjoy life
better. Therefore your father also wanted to continue this
"tradition." I would rather spend less and save more,
instead of hoping that I could have my fun and then become a burden to you
or society. Let me tell you something. Your uncle once came to
borrow money after losing money in gambling at Macau. I told your
uncle: "Why not let me gamble instead of you? It was fun for you
to enjoy gambling, but why should I foot your bill?" In the end,
I did not lend him a single cent. Although I should be delighted about
universal retirement pension because I are near retirement age and I can get
it almost immediately, you and other taxpayers will have to pay more!

Son, there is a trend towards shifting one's
responsibilities to others in our society. People require others to
remind or warn them on everything. I remember that we went to the
supermarket to shop and a customer was blaming the supermarket worker for
not reminding him to record the bonus points; as another example, a parent
complained against a teacher for not reminding her child to turn in homework
on time; also the government is held accountable for everything that happens
to people; etc. What government can possibly do so much? When we
shift our responsibilities to others or the government, we become more
irresponsible, more dependent and less alert. This is a particularly
perilous phenomenon. If we continue to abrogate our responsibilities
and shift them to others or the government, we will be the ones to
suffer! But it is popular now to "be demanding on others and
forgiving about oneself."

Son, frankly speaking, I am concerned about your extreme
actions. If we are living under totalitarian regimes like Libya and
Egypt, I would be proud of your extreme actions because my son is unafraid
of the hegemons and is willing to risk his life to fight for freedom and
democracy and to resist the powers-that-be. But you are in Hong Kong
and you have many channels to articulate your dissatisfaction and demands,
including demonstrating and voting. Why is it necessary to charge at
the police and block the streets? Putting yourself in the place of
others, you blocked the streets and inconvenience other people. Aren't
you depriving the freedom of others? The police that you charged at
are merely carrying out their duties. Why do you have to charge at
them and cause injuries? Why can't you look at things from their
viewpoints?

Son, society uses law to maintain order and it also wants
us to use our moral character to make the world better. I remember
that you and I enter an elevator together once. We were the first to
enter. I asked you to hold the "OPEN" button for those who
were coming behind. You asked me, "Why do I have to be
responsible for holding the button? Why can't someone else do
it?" At that instant, I was surprised. Of course I
explained to you that this was being considerate for others! Manners,
respect and considerateness are good moral virtues. When society
becomes too individualistic and free, people lose these moral virtues and
become ego-centric and inconsiderate, and society becomes more and more
greedy and selfish!

Son, it is actually the responsibility of your father to
discuss current affairs with you. There are many opinions and reports
in society which are partial and biased. A 13-year-old like yourself
may not be able to analyze these matters. As your father, I should
have more responsibility to analyze for you so that your thoughts about
these issues can be more solid. Of course, these are merely the
opinions of your father that are offered for you consideration. I do
not want to impose my ideas upon you.

In life, you need to feel and appreciate many things on
your own. In time, you will be wise with the experience. This
incident is a valuable lesson for you and it is a foundation for your
future.

Zhang Nan (pseudonym) was the business manager of a
computer technology company in Dongguan (Guangzhou city). Part of his
job was to solicit mass advertising delivered through mobile phone text
messages (SMS).

According to the Dongguan public security bureau, there
was a massive wave of SMS advertisements after the Chinese New Year.
The public security bureau received numerous complaints from the public
about SMS advertisements related to gambling and prostitution. In
early March, the Dongguan public security bureau took action against 11
prostitution-connected establishments in 8 towns and arrested 58 persons.

For example, the police found that a sauna manager named
Yang confessed that he spent 200 yuan to ask an individual named Zhang Nan
to send multiple advertising text messages. As a result, the police
locked in on this Zhang Nan person. At 3pm on March 9, the police
arrested this individual in his rented home.

However, the police did not imagine that Zhang Nan would
have business dealings with hotels in many towns all over Dongguan. He
was veritably a sub-contractor for "spreading prostitution text
messages."

When arrested, Zhang Nan confessed to the police that he
spent 6,000 yuan to purchase the "text message sender" equipment
from a certain QQ group. He also spent 800 yuan to acquire 600,000
mobile telephone numbers based mostly in Shenzhen-Guangzhou-Dongguan.
With the equipment and database in hand, Zhang Nan was able to find many
business opportunities from saunas all over Dongguan.

According to Zhang Nan, the sauna manager would send over
the text of the message to him. Zhang owns seven pieces of the machine
known as "text message cat" which cost 6,000 yuan apiece.
Next, Zhang purchases phone usage cards at 26 yuan apiece which carries 50
yuan value apiece. Each "text message cat" can accept 8
phone usage cards. Once the cards are inserted, Zhang can instruct the
computer to send text messages to the mobile phone numbers in the
600,000-strong database until the phone usage cards are exhausted in their
values. Then Zhang would insert a new batch of phone usage cards and
continue.

According to Zhang, he charges 50 cents per message.
Subtracting the costs, he stands to earn 1.2 cents per message. Zhang
sends as many as 60,000 messages per day (which would work out to a profit
of 7,200 yuan) and never less than 10,000 messages per day (which would work
out to a profit of 1,200 yuan).

Zhang is presently under arrest. Those
establishments which paid him to sent these messages will be investigated
and dealt with. Under the <Criminal Law Code>, Zhang faced 3
years or less in prison for manufacturing, reproducing, publishing, selling
and disseminating obscene articles for profit in addition to monetary fines
at a minimum. If his case is deemed to be extremely serious, he faces
life imprisonment.

[009] Blowback
On The 5 Million RMB Funeral For Mother (03/10/2011) (022.net)

According to information, the son Lin Dayu of the deceased
woman has apologized on behalf of his family to the teachers and students of
Xinhe Middle School and to the people of Wenling city.

Lin Dayu said that the funeral for his mother has
seriously violated the relevant city regulations with respect to funeral
arrangement as well as bringing ignominy to the city. He has reflected
deeply on the matter. "The memorial service was held on the
school sports ground, and thus it severely affected the students' learning,
the teachers' instructions and traffic around the area. I sincerely
apologize on behalf of my family to the teachers and the students of the
Middle School and to the various sectors of society."

According to a Xinhe town cadre, the town requires that
any family needs to supply the relevant documents as well as a deposit of
3,000 RMB when they want to hold a funeral service.

"This extravagant funeral service violated multiple
regulations. Therefore, the 3,000 RMB deposit has been confiscated and
donated to a charitable cause. In addition, the 30,000 RMB redwood
coffin prepared for the mother has been incinerated at the request of the
government." A town worker said.

Another town worker said that the "troubles" for
Mr. Lin have not ceased yet: "The helium balloons released during the
funeral service represent another violation of regulations. The
Weather Observatory will be imposing sanctions. The public security
bureau is gathering other evidence which will be handled in accordance with
the law."

The town worker also revealed that the key to the sports
ground was provided by a vice-principal of Xinhe Middle School. This
vice-principal is a friend of Mr. Lin. "At the time, Mr. Lin told
the vice-principal that he wanted to borrow the sports ground so that
funeral service attendees can park their cars. But the sports ground
was ultimately used to hold an unprecedented funeral service. When the
vice-principal found out, he did not immediately inform the principal who
was attending a meeting away from school."

On the evening of March 8, there was a joint Wenling city
government-party meeting to discuss the matter of the "extravagant
funeral." The decision was made to accept the resignation
application from the Xinhe Middle School principal. The suspended
vice-principal was relieved of his duties. The Wenling State Tax
Office director who assisted in running the funeral service was also
relieved of his duties.

It was also decided that the Xinhe town government-party
will publicly announce that Mr. Lin's company will be excluded from running
in the "Star Company" competition.

When <Henan Business News> reported on this matter, it
used the headline: "The tycoon: his mother's funeral took over a large
sports ground."

So what?

Well, actually, the title is an extremely rude wordplay.

First of all, there is the phrase "his
mother's." In the Chinese language, "mother" can be
either 'ma' (媽)
or 'niang' (娘).
So "his mother's" (他娘的)
can be swapped with "his mother's" (他媽的).
This latter three-character word is often known as the national curse phrase
in China, standing for "(Fuck) his mother's (cunt)!"

Next, there is the "the large sports ground" (大操場).
The word cao (操)
can mean "drill" or "exercise" but a more popular meaning
is "fuck."

So the whole phrase can be re-read as "The fucking
funeral of the tycoon was fucked over big time."

The image of this newspaper front page is currently going
around the microblogs without comments. People merely said:
"Forward." Why comment on the obvious?

Prejudice (with the colored lens referring to differential
treatment of permanent residents and new immigrants)

The government has announced that it would be distributing
$6,000 to every adult permanent resident. Many new immigrants were
upset, but that in turn caused tens of thousands of permanent residents to
express their hostility towards new immigrants.

On Wednesday, the government made its announcement.
Someone set up a Facebook page with the subject being: "New immigrants
are not getting $6,000, this is a benefit reserved for permanent residents,
we want 100,000 persons to say 'LIKE' to show those new
immigrants." As of early morning yesterday, more than 80,000
persons have clicked 'LIKE' and the page was heading towards the 100,000
barrier. But someone complained that this FB page was prejudicial and
it got deleted. The FB page was re-opened and several dozens of people
were signing up every minute. As of 00:30, more than 15,000 people
have already signed up. They complained that the previous group was
"harmonized" by Facebook and that "freedom of expression was
not being respected." They also have mean things to say about the
former City University Student Association president who had filed the
complaint against them and they published personal details of that person.

The members of this group targeted new immigrants:
"Haven't these new immigrants gotten enough welfare? How much
resource have these mainlanders taken from Hong Kong? First, they got
housing. Then they got healthcare, infant formulae and education and
they are still complaining." "We oppose those locusts who
want to take away the very little welfare that Hong Kong people have.
They want all the public housing, and they even want to steal all our
husbands." Etc.

Some people wanted to vindicate the new immigrants on Facebook.
Someone started: "New immigrants are Hong Kong residents too, I want
100,000 'LIKE' to prevent the $6,000 from splitting up Hong Kong!'
More than 2,000 persons have joined so far. Another person started:
"The new immigrants did not do anything wrong, we do not despise new
immigrants, we only despise those who are lazy but still want to take
advantage, whether they are new immigrants or not!" This group
has almost 100 persons joining in.

At the discussion forums, there were criticisms of the
"welfare state," "welfare system breeds lazy people" and
so on. Some people equated the opposition against new immigrants with
"right-wing ideology," "the rise of Hong Kong
consciousness" or even "extremist fascism."

Ms. Chen immigrated from mainland China to Hong Kong three
years ago: "Recently, a relative posted a video at my Facebook
page. It says that we new immigrants are lazy and trashy. This
relative is a non-working housewife who contributes nothing to
society. I have a job and I am not receiving welfare. So why
does she want to target me?"

According to the Executive Director of the Community
Organizations Association, "After the government announced that it was
distributing money to the permanent residents, the new immigrants called us
to complain. The taxpayers then cursed us for helping the new
immigrants." She said that a social rift was created when the
government gave money only to permanent residents. This will only
widen the wealth gap. The Association is studying whether they will
ask for a judicial review and to write the Untied Nations to pay attention
to the Hong Kong problem.

(YouTube) A anti-mainland-immigrant video (250,000+
viewings)

[006] My
Japanese Boyfriend (2011/03/08) (Southern
Weekend) [This essay by a Peking University female
undergraduate is guaranteed to rile the Chinese nationalists.]

When I meet new people, the atmosphere can cool down
rapidly. We each describe our backgrounds and then we find nothing to
say to each other. But some acquaintance would come around and say:
"Hey, do you know that her boyfriend is Japanese!" As soon as
that subject is brought up, the masses who don't know the truth become curious
and the conversation heats up. It never misses.

That's right. I have a Japanese boyfriend and this has
been going on for 18 months.

My friends are accustomed to calling him "Ghoul,"
as in "Hey, Rabbit, when is Ghoul coming over?" My fellow
student "Ghoul" does not mind and he frequently jokes: "But I
am a Japanese Ghoul!" But I know that he regards "Ghoul"
merely as a name no different from "Walnut" or
"Pear." I have asked him about what the Japanese think of the
Chinese people. He said that some of his grandfather's generation look
down on the Chinese people but the younger generation don't think that way any
more. "The notion of nationality has faded away. Only during
sport competitions can one sense the presence of nationalism." But
when I ran into the hassle involved in getting a replacement bank card, he
would say, "You Chinese people are so troublesome!"

In life, at least in Peking University, it is easy to like
Japanese people. They are different from the distinctly fashionable and
flamboyant Korean students. The Japanese students are cautious and
well-mannered, and never seek to stand out. One time, a fellow student
complained on the BBS that a Japanese student used stickers to claim an entire
row of seats. Almost all the commentators said that it must have been a
Korean student and gave many examples why this was not in the style of
Japanese students. This post became one of the top ten most popular
posts of the day.

In order to have more things to talk about with
"Ghoul," I had to start paying attention to Japanese drama, anime
and pop music as well as learn the Japanese language. Yet my efforts
were nothing compared to many Chinese friends. Unlike those students who
study hard in order to go overseas, these people studied Japanese out of
fanaticism for a certain Japanese singer or a certain Japanese anime
series. "Ghoul" once said: "I never imagined that so many
Chinese persons would be studying the Japanese language!"

There are also many who hate the Japanese people, or so it
seems. At September 18 or the commemorative day for the Nanjing
massacre, the Renren website is filled with videos and photos of Japanese
soldiers butchering the Chinese people. The title is usually: "Show
your support if you are a Chinese person!" A broadly shared post
said: "I like to watch <Detective Conan> because one Japanese
person dies each episode; I like to watch <Death Noteboon> because a
dozen Japanese persons die each episode. I like to to watch <Pirate
King> because a boatload of Japanese dies each episode. I like to
watch <Fire Shadow> because an entire village of Japanese people dies
each episodes. I like to watch <Ultraman> because an entire city
of Japanese die each episode. I like to watch <2012> because the
Japanese islands were wiped out within thirty minutes! In 2009, I and
"Ghoul" went to watch <Nanjing! Nanjing!> in which
"many Chinese persons died." After the final music came up and
before the lights came on, I saw him stealthily wiped tears from the corners
of his eyes. As we walked out, we felt grim and did not say
anything. As we waited to cross the road, a young couple was standing
next to us. The man said: "The little Japanese are too
detestable! If I saw a Japanese person, I really want to run him over
and kill him!"

My dad lovers to watch Resistance Against Japan television
drama. Whenever he saw scenes of the Japanese killing the Chinese, he
would be grinding his teeth in anger. Recently he traveled to Japan on
business. When he got back, he said: "I have been to Europe and
America, but I have never seen any country as neat, serene and orderly as
Japan. At the Japanese print factory, there is not even a single piece
of paper on the floor!" He had worked all his life in a printing
factory and this was inconceivable to him. When I told him that I found
a Japanese boyfriend, he was not angry. He was in fact very happy.
After the trip to Japan, he spent more than four hours eating, drinking and
chatting with "Ghoul." My grandmother and my great grandfather
had gone through the experience of "Ghouls marching into their
village" but they did not object to me having a Japanese boyfriend.
My grandmother even recalled that the Japanese soldiers gave her sweets as a
child. My great grandmother was happy because "Japanese people are
rich."

Because of the dispute over the Diaotyutai Islets,
Sino-Japanese relationship fell into a low point once again. In late
September when the public sentiments were at their highest, "Ghoul"
came back to China to see me. When my father heard that, he said
semi-seriously: "I am going to give him a punch on behalf of the people
of China." "Ghoul" made a painting especially for me
titled: "Rabbit goes to Japan." There is an airplane leaving
from China, skirting around the Korean peninsula which was labeled as "Smecta."
There is a small black spot with an arrow leading to a magnified island
labeled "Diaoyutai Islets, Japanese possession." Would you be
outraged over this? For "Ghoul" and me at least, this was
merely some black humor about our concern for state affairs.

Parents have been warned against
taking their kids to street demonstrations after an eight-year-old boy was
pepper- sprayed by police during anti-budget clashes. Security chief Ambrose
Lee Siu- kwong yesterday condemned the violence in Sunday's protest and said
it was "quite inappropriate" to use children as "a weapon for
resistance." His remarks came hours after police arrested 113
protesters - the youngest aged just 12 - who blocked the intersection of Des
Voeux Road Central and Ice House Street. All have been released on bail but
told to report back to the police in early June.

Protester Elsa Ko said her son Joseph, eight, was
pepper-sprayed without warning. "Why did the government and the police
in which I put so much trust fire pepper spray without warning?" she
asked. "Hong Kong is a safe place, so I thought there was nothing wrong
with bringing children on to the streets to air our views. Can we no longer
do this in Hong Kong?"

Ko, a mother of two, said taking her son to the protest
was part of his "civic education." Joseph was treated at the scene
and went to school as usual yesterday. His 12-year-old sister did not join
the protest. Ko said she would have removed her son from the scene had the
police warned they would use pepper spray. But Lee said that, as far as he
knew, police issued several warnings before using pepper spray. Officers
used "minimal force" only after some protesters clashed with the
police and refused to disperse.

Responding to Ko's accusation about an absence of advance
warnings, Lee said: "If this really happened, I would feel
regret." But he added: "No children should be brought to clash
areas as they are not psychologically mature yet. Violent scenes could set a
bad example for them. As I have said many times before, no matter how noble
protesters' motives, or how just your actions, resorting to violence will
make your acts unlawful."

One of the three police officers injured in Sunday's
clashes remained in Queen Mary Hospital last night. After visiting him
yesterday, Commissioner of Police Andy Tsang Wai-hung said the officer was
injured around the waist and could not walk. He warned protesters that
seizing or pushing police barricades will be seen as a challenge to
authority and will lead to prosecutions. Those who disrupt road traffic or
movement of people will be forcibly removed, he warned, while all officers
have been authorized to use pepper spray on "those who are particularly
violent."

League of Social Democrats chairman Andrew To Kwan-hang,
who was among the 113 arrested, admitted he was unable to control some of
the rowdier protesters. Pan-democrat lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan said the
rowdiness in protests is a warning to the government that social discontent
is escalating.

A mother whose eight-year-old son was sprayed with
pepper foam by police during an anti-budget protest in Central on Sunday
says the security minister's comments about the incident are an insult.

Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong yesterday
said it was "inappropriate to be using children as a weapon to defend
amid confrontation", and that "it is bad for children to bring
them to those violent scenes". He criticised the protesters, saying
police officers gave several warnings before they used the pepper spray.
"Some of the protesters used their bodies in clashes with police and
were not willing to leave in a peaceful way, which led to a police
decision on using a minimum level of force," Lee said.

The boy's mother, Elsa Ko, told a media conference
yesterday that she was "very disappointed a senior official made such
a comment". "I see this as a civil education to my child, a way
to have a better understanding of society. Is it wrong for me to bring my
child to join a protest? Is this not allowed in Hong Kong any more?"
Ko said that she, her aunt and son Joseph left the protest at 7.30pm for
dinner. After dinner she went back to say goodbye to friends at the
protest in Des Voeux Road Central and they got trapped in the crowd. Ko
said they heard no police warning and the police operation was swift.
"My son was crying and rubbed his eye," Ko said. A doctor at the
scene helped wash the pepper spray from his eye. Ambulance attendants
later gave the boy a medical check. Joseph went to school as usual
yesterday and said he supported the protesters.

On the day before yesterday, the opposition camp
demonstrated against the budget proposal and triggered yet another violent
clash. The League of Social Democrats demonstrators refused to leave
Government Headquarters and Queens Road Central after the demonstration
finished. The demonstrators even broke through the police cordon and
took over Des Voeux Central and shut down traffic, causing chaos in
Central district. When night came, the police took action to clear
the scene but they were violently resisted by the demonstrators. The
police were forced to use pepper spray to clear the scene. During
the process, an eight-year-old child was struck by pepper spray.

Yesterday, the mother of the child held a press
conference in the company of Legislator Leung Kwok-hung of the League of
Social Democrats. She said that she brought the child along to the
demonstration as civic education. She questioned why the police used
pepper spray without any prior warning. She also complained with
plenty of misgivings that there is no more freedom of expression in Hong
Kong. An eight-year-old boy had no idea what the demonstration was
for and he also lacks the ability to defend himself. The parents'
biggest concern should be the safety of their child. How can they
bring their child along to participate in a violent charge? The
League of Social Democrats should be deplored for instigating naive
children to charge with them without regard for personal safety.

The right and freedom of expression exist in Hong Kong,
but the premise is the that law has to be followed peacefully. The
League of Social Democrats turned a peaceful demonstration into a violent
clash. They went as a group to cause trouble in the busy Central
district and they broke the <Traffic Regulations>. They even
charged at the police and they used obscene language to curse out the
police. It is this wayward action by the League of Social Democrats
which turned a peaceful demonstration into a clash during which both
police officers and demonstrators were injured. The extreme violence
of the League of Social Democrats was the cause. So why did this
parent not condemn the evil deeds of the League of Social Democrats and
instead she criticized the police who were acting in accordance with the
law?

The police officers were very restrained in the face of
these ferocious demonstrators. In the television news broadcasts,
the people of Hong Kong can see how the angry young men of the League of
Social Democrats charge at the metal barriers, chase the police and curse
them out, jump up and down perilously in Central with utter disregard of
the safety of pedestrians. Should the police refrain from clearing
the scene and let these demonstrators create havoc in Central in order to
show that they respect freedom of expression? As Secretary
for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong said yesterday, the citizens have the
right to demonstrate but the police also have to protect the right of
other citizens to use the roads. Rights come along with duties and
obligations, and freedom of expression has to be law-abiding. This
is the first lesson of civic education. The League of Social
Democrats has assaulted the core values of society repeatedly and created
bad influence on social mores.

In truth, it is the choice of the parent to take her son
to the demonstration, and the child cannot dissent. But the parent
ought to consider the safety of her child. The demonstration against
the budget proposal was over in the afternoon and she has had her chance
to express her opinions. If the parent was not participating in the
assault launched by the League of Social Democrats, then why was she still
at the scene late at night? Is watching the League of Social
Democrats charging the metal barriers a form of civic education? If
this parent is a member of the League of Social Democrats and she brought
her son along to participate in the incident, then she ought to be
criticized for not considering the safety of her child. This
experience is not civic education; it is an education in how to exercise
violence. This parent even held a press conference afterwards to
criticize the police. Even if she were a supporter of the League of
Social Democrats, she did not have to bring her son along to charge at the
police alongside the League of Social Democrats. The parent can go
by herself. The child is innocent.

Of course, it is the League of Social Democrats which is
most deplorable for inflaming young people to engage in violent.
They not only instigate naive young people to assault the government, they
even ask their supporters to bring their friends and even children to join
in. In the many recent clashes, many naive young faces can be
seen. Many of them have no idea why they are marching. Some of
them came with friends while others came with their families. They
have no idea about the seriousness of charging at the police.
Unwittingly they become the weapons of resistance by the League of Social
Democrats. They are shoved into the front lines and become the
victims of the violent clashes. The League of Social Democrats are
known for their disorderly behavior at the Legislative Council where they
use obscene language that set bad examples for children. Now they
want to recruit children to cause trouble everywhere. If these
children get into legal trouble, their lives will be ruined.
Yesterday the police arrested a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old
boy. Society should protect our future generations and not let them
become the chess pieces of the League of Social Democrats.

(Apple Daily) The following video clip contains an
interview with the 8-year-old boy named Joseph. He said: "People
say that the government is bad. The plan was bad."
Reporter: "What did the government do wrong?" Joseph:
"Using money. They were bad in how they use money."
Reporter: "Will you continue to demonstrate?" Joseph:
"I will continue." Reporter: "Why?" Joseph:
"I want to care about them and support them."

In 2010, the Shanghai Jiatong University National Image
and Urban Cultural Innovation Strategic Research Base and Duke University's
Chinese Media Research Center organized a large-scale research project about
"China in the eyes of Americans." That is to say, the
survey respondents are Americans who are being asked about China.

Here are the results:

On a scale of 0 to 100, how would rate your feelings
towards China? (If the average score is between 50 and 100, it means
positive feelings; if the average score is between 0 and 50, it means
negative feelings.) The actual average score was 47.97, which means
that the Americans are almost neutral towards China.

Statement: China has a political system that satisfies the
needs of its people.
14.1%: completely inaccurate statement
11.4%: somewhat inaccurate statement
17.8%: more or less accurate
19.4%: somewhat accurate statement
35.6%: completely accurate statement

Question: Ten years from now, do you think China will
become more democratic or more responsible to its people?
27.7%: More democratic, more responsible to its people
59.3%: Same as today
12.6%: More undemocratic, less responsible to its people

Ta Kung Pao
(Front page was an advertisement for trade with Tianjin city)
Page A08:
Top one- third box: An industrial development agreement signed between Macau
and Guangdong province
Middle one-third box: $6,000 handout can be either cashed or saved
Bottom one-third box: Violent force used to dismantle metal barriers, say
"Never been afraid"
Causing trouble in the name of demonstration, League of Social Democrats
injured two police officers

Cops fired pepper spray and hauled
away about 50 protesters last night as anti- budget demonstrations in
Central left two officers injured. The demonstrators were venting their
anger at the revised budget proposals and the lack of long-term policies.

Almost 100 protesters stormed the traffic lanes and
tramway at the intersection of Des Voeux Road Central and Ice House Street,
bringing traffic to a halt. Police fired pepper spray to disperse them but
to no avail. At 10pm officers started to carry protesters away to vans
before taking them to police stations.

Deputy district commander (Central) Felix Law Cheuk-hung
said two officers were injured when protesters pulled down metal barriers.
One was struck in the waist and was taken to hospital, while the other
suffered cuts.

In the afternoon, demonstrators from all walks of life
packed Central despite a decision by Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah
to scrap the plan to bolster Mandatory Provident Fund accounts and, instead,
hand out HK$6,000 cash to adult permanent residents, plus a 75 percent
salaries tax rebate capped at HK$6,000. Chanting slogans such as "Tsang
Chun-wah, step down" and "Say no to budget without vision,"
more than 10,000 protesters - according to the organizers - marched from
Chater Garden to the Central Government Offices to slam the budget
proposals. "If John Tsang does not further revise his budget, he should
be ashamed to stay in office as he no longer has vision and integrity,"
said lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan, of the Confederation of Trade Unions, which
co-organized the protest. The pan-democrats want to see an additional HK$20
billion a year spent in areas such as health care, education and
environmental protection. Pan- democratic lawmakers meet Tsang tomorrow to
discuss the budget.

Police estimated about 6,300 protesters set off from the
Chater Garden and Chater Road area, where a separate group of demonstrators
from People Power held a rally yesterday afternoon. Others marched from the
Southorn Playground in Wan Chai.

Soon after 5pm, almost 100 protesters - mainly from
Post-80s City Boys & Girls and the League of Social Democrats - held
sit-ins at the government offices and Queen's Road Central, keeping three
traffic lanes closed. Some urged Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and
John Tsang to step down. After 22 demonstrators at the CGO were removed or
asked to leave around 8.20pm, the protesters joined others on Queen's Road
Central. Tension escalated when the groups stormed the intersection of Des
Voeux Road Central and Ice House Street.

Earlier, People Power protesters, joined by "Mad
Dog" Raymond Wong Yuk-man and Albert Chan Wai-yip, used slippers to
strike "villain papers" containing the name of Donald Tsang or
John Tsang.

Apple Daily
Small box across the top: Responding to split-up for the first time, Richard
Li: Heartbroken and pained
Main story: Claimed to be shoved in the chest while attending a commemoration
event for the 1911 Revolution
Donald Tsang "assaulted," examined at hospital

Oriental Daily
Top left small box: Aircraft carrier sent to Mediterranean Sea, USA prepares
to attack Qaddafi
Top right small box: Richard Li makes statement, admits to be the father of
the three sons for the first time
Main story: Encountered demonstrators, got rice tossed at him, shoved and
bumped, chest pain
Donald Tsang bruised and numbed (note: this is a word play because the phrase
also means "very embarrassed")

Headline Daily
Small box under the logo: "Chief Executive assaulted, injury examined at
hospital"
Main Story: First response on the split with Isabella, Richard Li: No third
party, no huge settlement

The Chief Executive, Donald Tsang, has been slightly
injured in the chest after being pushed by a protester from the League of
Social Democrats at the History Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui. He was discharged
from hospital after a medical check-up which showed that he suffered no
serious injury.

The incident happened when several members of the LSD
staged a rowdy protest at the opening of an exhibition to mark the centenary
of the 1911 revolution. One of them used his body to push Mr Tsang while
others disrupted the proceedings and damaged some stage settings. They were
unhappy the Financial Secretary's budget had done nothing for the poor.

After a medical check-up at Queen Mary Hospital, the Chief
Executive told reporters that there was some discomfort around his chest
after the incident. He rested for ten minutes before making a speech at the
ceremony. Mr Tsang said he continued suffering pain in
his chest and his wife suggested he go to hospital for a check-up. Later a
doctor said an x-ray showed the Chief Executive had no apparent injury but
he would continue to feel pain for a few days. Mr
Tsang said it was important for all protests to be conducted in a peaceful
and lawful manner.

Police detained the alleged attacker, surnamed Wong, and
he has now been released on Bail.

In response to a protest which disrupted a ceremony of an
exhibition to mark the centenary of the 1911 revolution, a government
spokesman today (March 1) issued the following statement:

Several protestors staged a rowdy protest when the Chief Executive, Mr
Donald Tsang, arrived at an exhibition marking the centenary of the 1911
revolution today. One of them used his body to push the Chief Executive.
During the ceremony, some protesters disrupted the proceedings and damaged
some stage setting. It is important that all protests are conducted in a
peaceful and lawful manner. We strongly condemn the use of violence today.
The Police are following up on the incident.

Police last night arrested a
25-year-old man after an alleged assault on Chief Executive Donald Tsang
Yam-kuen during a rowdy protest yesterday afternoon. Tsang later complained of chest pains and went to Queen
Mary Hospital for an examination. His condition is not serious though he is
in some pain, the doctor who examined him said.

The suspect, surnamed Wong, was detained overnight to help
with the investigation, police said. "Police will strengthen the protection
of the chief executive's personal safety following the violent incident
yesterday afternoon," a spokesman said.

The protest was staged by eight members of the League of
Social Democrats, including lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, during the opening
ceremony of an exhibition in Tsim Sha Tsui East to mark the centenary of the
1911 revolution.

Tsang was allegedly ambushed and hit by a protester after
getting out of his car on arriving at the venue. Several hours after the
protest at the Hong Kong Museum of History, he had a medical checkup at
Queen Mary Hospital.

"A [protester] came forward and hit me in the chest. I
went into a room and rested for 10 minutes. I felt all right then and went
on to the stage to make my speech," Tsang said. "When [I was] on the stage, they kept causing a
disturbance. Later, when I was having dinner, I felt a dull pain. So my wife
[Selina Tsang Pau Siu-mei] asked me to have a checkup. Hong Kong is a civilized society. Brutal acts are
unacceptable. Hong Kong is also a free society. Anyone who wants to express
their views - even by staging protests - can do so in a lawful manner."

Queen Mary's accident and emergency chief of service Dr
Tong Hon-kuan said the sore area on Tsang's chest was about 10cm wide and
consistent with being hit by a hard object. The position is close to the
chest bone and heart. "As he had pain when breathing, we X-rayed him but found
no fractures. We also conducted CT scans for the heart and did not find any
special problems," Tong said. "But I anticipate he will have pain when he breathes, as
every breath will move the joints in his ribs and chest bones," Tong said,
adding that Tsang might feel more pain as he has sensitive a throat that
triggers coughing. Tsang might find more swelling and feel some pain this
morning and has been prescribed painkillers, Tong said. Asked if the injury is serious, Tong said it is a
superficial wound that does not affect any internal organ.

During the opening ceremony, when Tsang and other guests
were seated on the stage, league member Tsang Chun- ying, 20, stormed
towards Tsang but was stopped by Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing
and security guards. Meanwhile League executive committee member Raphael Wong
Ho- ming, 23, shouted from the floor "Return wealth to the people" and
"There are 1.23 million poor [elderly] people! What have you done? What have
you done?"

Leung said he found it ridiculous for the chief executive
to have a check-up several hours after the protest. "He's turning a small matter into a big deal. He is the
leader of the state. Is this act necessary?" Leung asked. "If he was indeed
injured, he should have called for an ambulance soon after the ceremony.
Perhaps it's about losing face before representatives from the Central
Government Liaison Office."

The league said in a statement that Donald Tsang was
abusing his power by seeking a medical checkup and called on the crime squad
to investigate. The group also demanded the immediate release of one of its
members and warned of more waves of "revolution" targeting Donald Tsang and
his officials if there is no change in policy.

The following videos were taken at the scene. So are
you going to believe Donald Tsang or your lying eyes?